


Halcyon Days

by pikablob



Series: Maya & Ava [3]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Backstory, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Maya Lives, Vaguely Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21783169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pikablob/pseuds/pikablob
Summary: The last of Ava's deepest secrets come out during a stop-over on a backwater planet.
Relationships: Ava & Maya (Borderlands)
Series: Maya & Ava [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1565641
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Halcyon Days

Halcyon was about as backwater as planets come, Maya decided. It wasn’t too far from Pandora, but while that blasted rock had every corporation and adventurer in the galaxy lined up for its riches, the only group with any interest in Halcyon was the Holloway corporation. They’d built a single colony, a city of maybe twenty thousand named Edgewater, and that was pretty much the only civilisation on the cold and rainy surface.

But the Crimson Raiders needed supplies, and Halcyon was en route to Pandora, so they’d pulled into high orbit for a couple of days to trade for provisions. Which was why Maya found herself planetside, walking through the rather dingy Edgewater marketplace. Ava had insisted on tagging along, and she had been more than happy to oblige.

But the girl had been unusually quiet since they’d arrived. She clung closer to Maya’s side than usual, and the spark that normally filled her was conspicuously absent. It was strange, and Maya felt a pit of worry in her stomach for the girl as she browsed the stalls; the only other time she had seen Ava like this was in the aftermath of Promethea, when Troy had taken her power.

She kept half an eye on the girl as she browsed the dreary market, looking mainly for books. The pair were getting a few strange looks; Edgewater was mostly workers and their families, and the pair certainly out of place amid them. Still, the people seemed nice enough, so Maya wasn’t particularly worried about anything as she browsed.

“Hey!” Ava suddenly shouted. “Get the hell off me!”

Maya spun, hand stealing to her gun. One of the locals, a heavyset man in worn overalls, had Ava by the arm. Several others had gathered behind him, forming a semicircle around the stall, and. Before the siren could intervene she kicked him hard in the shin; he grunted in pain and surprise, releasing his grip. She immediately darted behind Maya, glaring at the gathering locals.

“You little!” the man snarled. “You’ve got some nerve, you know that?!” He stepped forwards but Maya made sure to keep herself between the two.

“What do you want with her?” she demanded. He scowled, but knew better than to try and force his way past.

“Don’t you know who she is?” he retorted. “She’s a thief; stole from damn near everyone here at least once. I just caught ‘er casing my stall!”

“Was not!” Ava countered.

“I know Ava,” Maya spoke firmly, still ready to draw should things go south. “She wasn’t planning to steal from you.” Another stepped forwards from the crowd.

“I don’t know what she told you, lady,” he grimaced, “But I wouldn’t trust a word she says. She’s a crafty one; I’ll bet she’s planning to steal from you too. She’s just biding her time ‘till you’re not looking!”

“Yeah!” another jeered from the gaggle of locals.

“I wouldn’t!” Ava protested. “I don’t do that crap anymore!”

“Oh really?” the man who had first grabbed her challenged.

“I’ve changed,” she folded her arms, “Clearly you haven’t if you’re still hanging around here.”

“That’s it!” he growled. He surged forwards, brimming with rage. But Maya was faster; he stopped dead as the barrel of a Maliwan rifle was levelled right between his eyes.

“Enough,” she said firmly, shooting a glare at the man to silence him. “You lay another hand on her and you won’t live to regret it.” She looked down. “Come on, Ava; lets get out of here.”

The girl opened her mouth to protest, then thought better of it. Instead she shot the man who had recognised her a glare as they walked away, quietly seething. Maya kept her rifle trained on the man, keeping the crowd at in line, until they were well clear of the market

“Keep an eye on your stuff!” someone called from behind as they rounded a corner, putting the crowd out of sight. Ava muttered a retort, too quiet for anyone but herself to hear. Maya kept walking, making sure to lead the girl well away from the market and its many prying eyes. Her thoughts wandered; she had read bits and pieces of Ava’s diary while helping her reconstruct it after the incident with Beans, but she didn’t remember Halcyon coming up in the pages she’d been allowed to see.

Finally they reached a small public square, deserted save for a couple of wandering rodents. A dilapidated statue sat in the middle, gazing solemnly over the dreary space. Recognition glistened in Ava’s eyes as she took in the sight, before glancing down one of the other streets branching off between the surrounding buildings.

“So,” Maya said bluntly, stopping beside the statue, “You’ve been here before.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yeah, like, ages ago,” Ava rebutted. “And not for long.” From her hesitation it was clear she was lying. Maya frowned; she had hoped they were past this by now. But still Ava seemed to be holding something back.

“Ava,” the siren chided.

“Okay fine,” Ava said through gritted teeth, “I stayed in town for a few months, back when, you know, my life went to crap.” She took a deep breath, looking up at Maya, before continuing. “I didn’t steal at first, I didn’t want to, but how the hell else was I meant to get by? None of them were any help.”

“Ava-”

“And I know you get it,” she went on, unable to stop herself. “You’re my mom and you actually care about me and know who I really am. But they don’t! Nobody here does! All they see is the same kid who stole shit from them back then. And they’re always gonna see that! And it’s not just gonna be here; every planet I stopped off on will be the same. Guess I was stupid to hope they would’ve moved on by now.”

“They aren’t obliged to forgive you,” Maya said gently, “As much as I think they should, given the circumstances. But that goes both ways; it doesn’t matter what anyone who met you in past thinks, what matters is that you’re trying to be better.”

“Ugh, I know,” Ava shook her head. “But here especially I just…” She trailed off, unsure of how she wanted to explain it. “Can I show you something?” she asked finally. “Here, I mean. I’m not just trying to change the subject, I swear.”

“Okay,” Maya sighed, not sure where this was going, “Show me.”

Ava nodded, before walking off towards the street she’d glanced at before. Maya followed, silently worrying for the girl. They walked in silence, Ava leading on as if she knew this place like the back of her hand. The street grew dark and narrow, until finally she turned off into the narrow gap between two aging industrial buildings. She halted just inside, looking back up at Maya for a moment before gazing at the dirty floor.

“Well this is it,” she said bluntly, before quietly continuing, “Looks just like when I left.”

Maya looked around; the alleyway was dark and filthy, scattered with junk and refuse. A wrecked robot lay against the far end, long dead, and a rusting grate was the only break in the old concrete covering the floor. A lot of the junk had been piled up in one corner beside it, mostly old newspaper and scraps of tarpaulin, as if someone had tried to build a nest. The conclusion was obvious.

“You lived here?” she breathed. Ava nodded reluctantly, as if she was embarrassed to admit this was what she’d been reduced to.

“I don’t think anyone’s been here since,” she observed.

Anything more she might have said was cut off by a low rumble. The ground seemed to shake, the junk on top rattling and clattering against the concrete. She paled, stepping back from the vent.

“Uh oh,” she said quickly. “Mom! Cover your face!”

“What?”

There came a series of loud clunking and hissing sounds. Then a light came on somewhere deep below the grate, and with a loud hiss a cloud of fumes erupted into the narrow space. It stank of shit and filth and was uncomfortably warm; Maya’s eyes watered, but though she did cringe Ava seemed remarkably unaffected.

“What is that?” Maya coughed, stepping back into the street and trying to waft the stuff away with her arms.

“Gas from the sewers,” Ava shrugged. “I probably shoulda warned you. That’s-”

“A pressure release valve,” Maya supplied, eyes going wide. She had known about that from the diary, but if that was here…

“This is your home planet,” she said slowly, “Isn’t it?”

“It was,” Ava corrected, “But yeah.”

“Is that what you wanted to show me?” Maya asked, concern growing. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“I don’t know!” the girl threw her arms up in frustration. “Gah! I just find it hard to talk about, even with people I know, like it’s some weird embarrassment that I spent two years alone. I don’t even like thinking about it!”

“It’s okay,” Maya gently placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “I understand.” For a moment Ava was lost for words, just silently looking over at the place she’d once lived in. When she did find her voice again it was quiet.

“You know the worst part?” she asked, voice cracking. “I used to know a lot of those jerks, back before it all happened. That’s why this sucks so much; I used to see them every day and I thought they were all nice but when I lost everything none of them gave a crap about me! I was all alone and no-one cared, and they still don’t.”

Unable to stand by any longer, Maya gently embraced her. She reciprocated, pulling the siren close.

“It doesn’t matter if they do or don’t,” she reassured, “Not anymore. You’re not going to be alone like that ever again.” They parted after a comfortable moment. Ava looked up, the ghost of a smile on her face.

“Thanks mom,” she said quietly. Maya smiled, reaching under her hood to ruffle the girl’s hair affectionately.

“Can I ask something personal?” she said after a moment. Ava looked down again, but relented.

“Yeah?”

“Where did you live before?” Maya asked.

“Other side of town,” Ava explained, “Northish I guess? The house got condemned by Holloway after the attack.”

“The attack?” Maya asked cautiously; this was the first time she’d ever heard any mention of what happened to the girl’s family, and she was suddenly very wary of scaring Ava back into her shell.

“Guess I never told you about it, huh?” Ava said dryly, trying to disguise the lump forming in her throat. Maya shook her head. “Dahl tried to take over,” the girl explained. “I don’t know what they wanted, but it was chaos. Those Crime-Buster-Bot things Holloway have didn’t do crap, so they had to hire a bunch of mercenaries to fight back and neither side cared about the people living here. A whole bunch got caught in the crossfire.

“I didn’t even know what was happening,” she sniffed, struggling to continue, “I got home one day to find the whole block on fire. There were bodies everywhere. I tried to find someone, anyone, but they were all dead.” She paused, suddenly rubbing at her eyes to try and stop tears from forming. “Everything was burning and I couldn’t see and I couldn’t breathe and I couldn’t keep searching.” She went quiet, sniffling in vain, arms falling limply to her sides.

Maya felt her heart break. She pulled the girl back into her embrace, gently rubbing her back and trying to soothe her.

“They found the bodies in the cleanup,” Ava hiccuped, unable to keep the story from spilling out. “Never found out which side did it. I still feel like I should have done more. I should’ve been back sooner or kept looking or something! But I just ran.”

“And you survived,” Maya said, softly but firmly. “There’s a point where you can do no more; I can’t say for certain because I wasn’t there, but if it was that bad you probably would’ve just been killed as well.”

Ava just let out a quiet sob, too overcome to respond. A thought surfaced in Maya’s mind as she stood there, and she spoke again.

“Is that why you followed me on Promethea?” she asked gently. Ava just nodded and let out a sob-strangled murmur. Maya tightened her grip without even thinking, feeling the faint sting of tears in her own eyes.

After what felt like an eternity Ava grew quiet. She reached up and finally returned the embrace, quickly squeezing tight before letting go. When they parted Maya looked down to see Ava looking back up, expression uncertain but hopeful.

“Thanks,” she said quickly, “I needed that. Just, one thing?”

“Yes?”

“There’s something I need to do,” she explained, “Before we head back to the ship.”

* * *

It had started to rain by the time they finally reached their destination. Ava had lead Maya up and out of town, past the dilapidated buildings and through the stares of what felt like half the populace. They passed through one of the suburbs still damaged from the Dahl invasion, past the burned out hulks of houses, until finally they reached a graveyard.

Ava hesitated at the entrance, craning her neck to look across the dreary rows of headstones. There was nobody else around, and the place seemed a little overgrown, but what really surprised Maya was the size. There were dozens of graves, and none of them looked old or worn like the ones back on Athenas. They were all uniform, with no decoration besides the occupants’ names chiselled into them.

“They buried everyone from the district here,” Ava said, seemingly more to herself than Maya, “Holloway bought the graves. They’ll be here.” It sounded like she was trying to reassure herself, Maya thought, but she didn’t say anything.

Slowly Ava walked in, looking over the headstones again. From what Maya could see they looked to be in alphabetical order; Ava kept walking until she reached the area where her own surname would be. It was quiet, with only the faint drizzle from above and the sound of footsteps on the grass, but with each step she seemed to become more and more nervous.

Finally she stopped, looking down at one of the headstones. Her chest rose and fell with shaky breaths. Maya stood back, just enough to give her the space she needed, and read the names on the grave:  _ ‘Ralph & Marlene Collins’ _ .

Ava knelt down on the damp grass, tears forming once again. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing nerves, and began to speak.

“H-hey mom, hey dad,” she stammered out, “It’s been a long time, huh?” The silence of the graveyard answered. She kept going. “I’m sorry I didn’t visit sooner, I just, I don’t know, things have been really hard since you left.” She had to pause to wipe her eyes, trying not to break down again. “I was alone for a long time, b-but you don’t have to worry about me any more. I met this woman, her name’s Maya; I tried to steal from her at first but she took me in. She’s my mom now, and I’m doing okay again.”

Maya felt her heart swell at the girl’s words, but she stayed back, letting her get it all out.

“I haven’t replaced you guys or anything I just- I just can’t make it on my own,” she sniffed, “I need people, and Maya loves me and I love her and I hope you understand. I still miss you, all the time, but I’m doing a lot better. I just hope wherever you are, you’re also okay. I love you both, so much.”

Finally Ava got to her feet, wiping her eyes with a sleeve. She looked over at Maya and saw pride and sorrow brimming in her eyes. She hurried over, enveloping the woman in another hug.

“Thanks mom,” she said simply, “For everything.”

“It’s nothing,” Maya replied softly, returning the embrace. “Now, wanna get out of here?”

“Yeah,” Ava breathed. They separated, and slowly set off back out towards the town. As they walked, Maya spoke again.

“Ava?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m proud of you,” she said, “And I’m sure your parents would be, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> In b4 this is inevitably jossed by DLC


End file.
